Korin
|Race=Cat |Date of birth=Approximately 50 Before Age |Date of death=Age 774 (Revived) |Height= |Weight= |Address=FFA 44195 SQ |FamConnect= Master Roshi (Student) Goku (Student) Tien Shinhan (Student) Krillin (Student) Yamcha (Student) Chiaotzu (Student) Yajirobe (Student/Attendant) }} Korin (カリン, Karin) is an anthropomorphic cat who lives atop a giant tower. He is a wise cat who is over 800 years old and is a martial arts master. He is widely known to western audiences as Korin, a pun on corn, as opposed to his Japanese name, Karin. Name The name is derived from K'arin, the Japanese name for the Chinese quince. His tower, the "Korin Tower" (カリン塔 Karin-tō), is a play on a type of fried dough cake called "karinto" (花林糖 karintō), which fits the common theme of the characters being named after foods. Biography Early life Korin is a Senbyō (仙猫, immortal cat) and is at least 800 years old when introduced in Dragon Ball.Dragon Ball manga, vol. 8, page 62. USA, CAN.2003 - He is a deity who lives at the top of Korin Tower. The tower is located right underneath Kami's Lookout. The young Roshi was the first one of many to climb the tall Korin Tower and train under the legendary Korin. It took him 3 years to catch Korin and obtain the Sacred Water, which was rumored to tremendously increase one's strength and speed. Korin plays a large role in Dragon Ball when he trains Goku during the Red Ribbon Army Saga. At later points in the series, Korin lends his assistance periodically to Goku and the Z Fighters by lending Senzu Beans to aid them in their journeys. Dragon Ball Meeting Goku When Goku enters the Sacred Land of Korin searching for his Grandpa Gohan's Four-Star Ball, he soon discovers that the ball is held by the native inhabitants, Bora and Upa. Gratefully, Bora gives the ball to Goku and tells him of the legend of the colossal tower, so high that not even airplanes can reach the top; if a person manages to climb to the top and drink the "Sacred Water" held by Korin, the Master of Combat, their strength and speed will be tremendously increased. In addition to this, Korin is the only one who grows the Senzu Beans which heal wounds and are equivalent to eating ten days worth of food. Learning of their defeat, the Red Ribbon sends the hired assassin Mercenary Tao, who easily overpowers Goku and nearly kills him, if not for the Dragon Ball hidden in his clothing. After coming to, Goku realizes his need to become stronger and begins the ascent, climbing throughout the day and into the night, sleeping with his tail clinging tightly to the handholds. After a day of straight climbing, an exhausted Goku reaches the top and encounters the white cat-immortal, Korin, who is insulted at the boy's disbelief that he is the legendary Master. After reading Goku's mind and finding his intentions pure, Korin tells the boy that he can have the Sacred Water. Goku leaps to grab it, but the cat immediately snatches it away, hooking it to his stick and declaring that the boy can indeed have it if he can take it. Training Goku Even Goku's superhuman agility is no match for the cat, as he leads Goku on a chase around and around the tower, matching Goku's Afterimage Technique with his own, eventually becoming bored with the "workout" and calling an end for the day. An exhausted, yet curious Goku asks if anyone has managed to reach the water; the cat responds that the only one who did was Goku's old teacher, Master Roshi, which shocks the boy. He is further shocked when, asking how long it took, Korin responds with three years. The next day, Goku awakes to find Korin dumping "garbage" over the side of the tower, including his Grandpa Gohan's Four-Star Ball. Furious, Goku immediately runs down the tower to retrieve it and climbs it again, while the old cat looks on with satisfaction; what took a day previously has now only taken three hours, a sign of the boy's growing strength. After three days of chasing and climbing, a determined Goku finally manages to outmaneuver Korin and take the bottle of Sacred Water from him; after drinking it, however, he doesn't notice any strength increase at all. Korin informs him that it is just tap water; it was Goku's intense exertion that made him much stronger and faster than before. A grateful Goku thanks Korin for the training, and climbs down the tower to face Mercenary Tao again. After Goku tells Mercenary Tao about the Sacred Water, the assassin climbs the tower to get the power for himself. Korin, however, sensed a wicked man like Mercenary Tao and tricked him, by only giving him the "sacred" water without the training, which has no benefits. He then gives Tao a Dark Nimbus, but as soon as Tao reaches the bottom the nimbus makes him fall through it rather than let him fly all the way down on it. King Piccolo released When Yajirobe carries Goku up the Korin Tower from his first confrontation with King Piccolo, Korin reveals that he has in fact special water that unleashes the drinker’s inner power, the Ultra Divine Water. However, the water itself is so dangerous that he refuses to let Goku journey to retrieve it until learning that the legendary King Piccolo had been released. After a grueling trek and overcoming numerous obstacles (in anime only), Yajirobe and Goku reach the Ultra Divine Water. Tasting a single drop of the Ultra Divine Water disgusted and was extremely painful for Yajirobe. Goku drinks it deeply, sending him into agony as well. After a couple of hours of agony, the water gave him the power needed to defeat King Piccolo. After Goku defeats King Piccolo, Yajirobe brings Goku to the tower to heal his wounds. Goku tells Korin that Shenron was killed by King Piccolo and there is no way to revive all the people that were killed. Korin tells Goku about the Guardian of Earth who is the creator of the Dragon Balls. Korin tells Goku to use his Power Pole to get to Kami's Lookout way above Korin's tower. ''Mystical Adventure'' Korin appears in Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure which is an alternate retelling. He gives Goku advice on helping him defeat General Tao. Dragon Ball Z In Dragon Ball Z, Korin shows up from time to time, giving a Senzu Bean to Goku when he is revived after the battle against Vegeta, and helping the Z Fighters after the battle against the Saiyans. Yajirobe eventually ends up living with him in the tower (in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, Korin wonders why he lets Yajirobe him stay). During the Garlic Jr. Saga, Korin and Yajirobe meet Krillin's girlfriend, Maron. During this period, Maron notably conviced Korin and Yajirobe to cook for her, and played poker with them. He also is shown as having a weakness to being stroked on the chin, as Maron demonstrates when getting him to go her way, although the second time she did this he snapped at her to stop doing that. Goku visits Korin after his training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to show him his new power. He visits him again to get a Senzu Bean for Videl who has been injured by Spopovich during the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. After Kid Buu's defeat, Korin he is seen at Mr. Satan's party with Yajirobe.Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! ''Cooler's Revenge'' During the events of the film, Goku ends up being severely wounded by taking the brunt force of an attack by Cooler that was intended for Gohan. In order to help Goku recover while in hiding from Cooler and his Armored Squadron, Gohan had to travel to Korin at his tower, although Korin declined Gohan's request because he didn't try to give him a gift (in the original version, it was because Gohan only climbed halfway up the tower). Despite this however, he ended up having to let Gohan get the bean satchel as well as a spare bean anyways, primarily due to Yajirobe's interference (causing them to get into a severe arguement). Dragon Ball GT Korin makes a cameo appearance in Dragon Ball GT, in episode 40 "Piccolo's Decision", when Kibito Kai saved him and Yajirobe from the Earth's destruction. he is also seen in one of the flashbacks in the final episode of Dragon Ball GT, "Until We Meet Again". Powers and abilities *'Flight' – Korin can fly with the use of ki, as seen when he was at the West City hospital after the battle against the Saiyans."Nursing Wounds" *'Afterimage Technique' – Korin claims to be the inventor of this technique. *'Korin's staff' – Korin can shoot an invisible ki blast out of his staff. *'Mind Reading' – Korin is shown to read Goku's mind when Goku first reaches the top of Korin Tower. Senzu Beans Korin is the only one who grows the Senzu Beans which heal wounds and are equivalent to eating ten days worth of food. Korin Tower is the only place in the world they are grown, and so these magic beans are quite valuable. The Senzu Beans are used frequently in Dragon Ball Z to restore energy in battle, and many a time they save the lives of the Z Fighters. The beans are limited in number and are difficult to grow, and so Korin only gives them to the Z Fighters in time of need or before a battle. Usually no more than five are carried at a time. Video game appearances *''Dragon Ball Z: Kyôshū! Saiyan'' *''Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen'' *''Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen'' *''Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure'' *''Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II'' *''Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury'' *''Dragon Ball Online'' *''Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo'' (he has to be caught to complete a mission) *''Dragon Ball: Origins 2'' Voice Actors *Japanese Dub: Ichiro Nagai, Naoki Tatsuta *Ocean Group Dub: Paul Dobson (DBZ episodes 26-37), Ted Cole (DBZ episodes 109-285) *FUNimation Dub: Christopher R. Sabat *Latin American Dub: Arturo Mercado *Brazilian Dub: Fabio Moura(DB), Marcelo Pissardini (DBZ) Trivia *Akira Toriyama used his own cat as a model for Korin and drew him while the cat was sleeping. This is why Korin's eyes are closed. *In the manga, Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu, and Dragon Ball Online, Korin had blue fur. In the anime, it was changed to white. *In the Red Ribbon Army Saga, Goku's Flying Nimbus was destroyed, but when he climbed Korin Tower, Korin told him they can never be destroyed. However, for some reason, in the 3rd Dragon Ball movie, Mystical Adventure, Korin is surprised to see a cloud like Flying Nimbus. *In the Goku vs. Mercenary Tao fight in the anime of Dragon Ball, Mercenary Tao climbed the Korin Tower. When he reached the top, Korin called and gave him a black Dark Nimbus, then he drank the sacred water so that he can match Goku's power. In the manga, Korin called a nimbus cloud (a huge one) five Tankobons after Tao was defeated. *In the British dub of the movie Mystical Adventure, Korin's gender is changed to female. *In the episode 68 of Dragon Ball, "The Last Dragon Ball", Puar tells Oolong a joke about Korin. He says "If Korin were in the Red Ribbon Army, what would he be??", to which Oolong replies "Probably a general." Puar then says "No!! everyone knows he would be a colonel!!". Referring to Korin's name being a pun of the word "corn". *Korin is briefly seen in Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Love Comes From Penguin Village where he runs past the screen before Yajirobe does in the opposite direction. *In the video game Ōkami by Capcom, the cat brush god Kabegami can be reached by climbing a tower that reaches to the skies, similar to the Korin Tower. Gallery Redribbon31.JPG|Kori showing Goku how many years took Master Roshi to grab the holy water from him Korin.JPG|Korin, immediately before using his staff to destroy a column Yaji&FlyingKorin.png|Korin and Yajirobe Korin&Maron.png|Korin with Maron Korin&YajiCooking.png|Korin and Yajirobe cooking for Maron Online2ndGroup&Korin.png|Korin in Dragon Ball Online References Category:Characters Category:Animals Category:Deities Category:Dragon Ball Category:Dragon Ball Z Category:Dragon Ball GT Category:Local Deities Category:Males Category:Martial Artists Category:Z Fighters Support Category:Characters who can fly